Soon to be new to salt tanks hopefully

[Drumm22]

Question for the experts. I’ve always had freshwater never salt. Was curious if I get a 15-20gallom saltwater tank, does it neethe tank underneath it? I’m mot well versed in saltwater tanks. And if anyone has this smaller size can you show me? How often do you need to buy saltwater? Do you make your own?

 

[Deadeye]

You don’t need a sump for saltwater, though it certainly makes it easier when dealing with bigger tanks. My only salt tank is an all in one, the fluval 13.5, and it comes with all the required pumps and filtration (though not a heater), there are all in ones in the 15-20 gallon range too. What is nice is that they have everything you would need - not the best stuff but it is sufficient. Going from scratch there are plenty of hob or canister options for filtration.
I make my own saltwater, all you need is water (preferably rodi) and the salt. In a small tank water changes are only going to be 3-5 gallons, so you don’t need a whole lot at that point.

 

[Drumm22]

Thanks!

You don’t need a sump for saltwater, though it certainly makes it easier when dealing with bigger tanks. My only salt tank is an all in one, the fluval 13.5, and it comes with all the required pumps and filtration (though not a heater), there are all in ones in the 15-20 gallon range too. What is nice is that they have everything you would need - not the best stuff but it is sufficient. Going from scratch there are plenty of hob or canister options for filtration.
I make my own saltwater, all you need is water (preferably rodi) and the salt. In a small tank water changes are only going to be 3-5 gallons, so you don’t need a whole lot at that point.

So for a small tank would the all in one come w the filter or were you saying it comes with everything but the heater and filter?

 

[Deadeye]

Thanks!

So for a small tank would the all in one come w the filter or were you saying it comes with everything but the heater and filter?

Different tanks come with different pieces, but just about all of them will come with adequate filtration and lighting.
I don’t know for sure about heaters in all of them, but one complaint about the fluval 13.5 is that it does not come with a heater.

 

[The Morning]

Also an owner of the Fluval 13.5. It was my first reef tank and for the most part it has been a fairly smooth transition. I love the tank, maintenance is fairly straightforward corals and fish all seem heathy.
I change about 3 gallons weekly and make my own salt water.

 

[tlindsey]

You don’t need a sump for saltwater, though it certainly makes it easier when dealing with bigger tanks. My only salt tank is an all in one, the fluval 13.5, and it comes with all the required pumps and filtration (though not a heater), there are all in ones in the 15-20 gallon range too. What is nice is that they have everything you would need - not the best stuff but it is sufficient. Going from scratch there are plenty of hob or canister options for filtration.
I make my own saltwater, all you need is water (preferably rodi) and the salt. In a small tank water changes are only going to be 3-5 gallons, so you don’t need a whole lot at that point.

I just may setup a Nano aquarium thanks to you ?

 

[tlindsey]

Was recommended to a new lfs store in the area for saltwater. Well was impressed as soon as I stepped in. The live species of Soft and Hard Coral were a wow factor. Tons of frags. The young man that I talked to was very informative and wasn't about selling. Told me what I needed and how much.
Here is a few pics

 

[Backfromthedead]

As of a couple years ago, i had been a freshwater keeper 20+ years, decided to kick off a salt tank on a minimum budget, minimum tech fowlr setup. My tanks all run relatively large sumps with just filter socks handling the filtration, lots of water volume and flow through sump, little to no gadgets or dosing involved, no skimmer or auto top off. Had a good thing going until stocking issues among other things got the better of me. At a minimum I would definitely recommend a sump with a surface skimming overflow in the display tank. The bigger the sump tank the better, ie the more water volume to control, the better. If i had it to do over again, i would do a couple things different:

-skimmer is a must: once my fish put on some size, i found myself struggling to keep up with water parameters. I would have to perform large water changes every week (30-50%), which ate up a lot of $$$ in salt, and the large changes caused instability in my water chemistry...it appeared that my fish were doing fine, but there was a definite impact to the ecosystem...algae blooms, temperature swings, salt creep, ph crashes. I believe a quality skimmer wouldve given me an edge , minimized the waste buildup in the water column...once my cleanup crew was eviscerated by my growing predatory fish there was a lot of decaying matter in the tank i couldnt control.

-RODI: this goes hand in hand with the skimmer. The nutrient rich, mineral rich tap water i was mixing only exacerbated the above problems, even when properly conditioned and mixed. Ime, with salt, the more control, more stability in the water you have the better.

Im rebooting my tanks now with freshwater...if i ever go back to salt I'll be including a lot more of the above. Best thing i can say is be prepared to spend more time, more effort, more money if you want to be successful with salt vs fresh.

 

[tlindsey]

As of a couple years ago, i had been a freshwater keeper 20+ years, decided to kick off a salt tank on a minimum budget, minimum tech fowlr setup. My tanks all run relatively large sumps with just filter socks handling the filtration, lots of water volume and flow through sump, little to no gadgets or dosing involved, no skimmer or auto top off. Had a good thing going until stocking issues among other things got the better of me. At a minimum I would definitely recommend a sump with a surface skimming overflow in the display tank. The bigger the sump tank the better, ie the more water volume to control, the better. If i had it to do over again, i would do a couple things different:

-skimmer is a must: once my fish put on some size, i found myself struggling to keep up with water parameters. I would have to perform large water changes every week (30-50%), which ate up a lot of $$$ in salt, and the large changes caused instability in my water chemistry...it appeared that my fish were doing fine, but there was a definite impact to the ecosystem...algae blooms, temperature swings, salt creep, ph crashes. I believe a quality skimmer wouldve given me an edge , minimized the waste buildup in the water column...once my cleanup crew was eviscerated by my growing predatory fish there was a lot of decaying matter in the tank i couldnt control.

-RODI: this goes hand in hand with the skimmer. The nutrient rich, mineral rich tap water i was mixing only exacerbated the above problems, even when properly conditioned and mixed. Ime, with salt, the more control, more stability in the water you have the better.

Im rebooting my tanks now with freshwater...if i ever go back to salt I'll be including a lot more of the above. Best thing i can say is be prepared to spend more time, more effort, more money if you want to be successful with salt vs fresh.
[/Westport.

I've had a similar experience and spent so much money. I definitely agree with everything you stated. Thinking about doing a Nano but will see ?

 

[The Morning]

I am not using RODI water in my tank. Tap treated with prime and mixed with IO reef crystals. Everything I read says to use RODI water but I am hesitant to mix anything up as my tank seems to be doing so well. Should I switch? Or just go status quo?
Also not rocking skimmer. I had one but it was a pain in the Evo.